


Beyond

by Lyora



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: ALS, Angst, Character Death, Death, Duelling, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Illnesses, M/M, Terminal Illnesses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:08:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28098192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyora/pseuds/Lyora
Summary: Yugi suffers his way through his first and final duel with Atem. Having his fatal disease and the foresight of losing a friend weight down on him.
Relationships: Atem/Mutou Yuugi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	Beyond

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Prince_of_Puzzles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prince_of_Puzzles/gifts).



> Happy 25th Birthday to my beloved friend Cassani! <3  
> I wrote this piece especially for you, I hope you enjoy it!

Yugi smilled as he leaned into Atems strong sunkissed arms, contently snuggling into the warmth he provided.  
"I just wish we could stay here forever," Yugi hummed, looking out on a desert scene.  
He knew it was fake, they both knew, but in here he didn't feel pain or agony, wasn't scared for what was happening. In here it felt like nothing would ever get to him.  
Atems nose softly tickled his neck as his breath made goosebumps on Yugi's skin, "Hmm, me too, Japan is too cold," he mumbled.  
"You never complained about that before," the young man snorted, turning his now amused look onto his partner.  
"Because I didn't remember," Atem shrugged it off, a smile tugging on the corners of his lips.  
Yugi shook his head in disbelieve, "I'm not sure if memory actually has the power to change one's bodily reaction on temperature,".  
"Were you sure duel monsters were real three thousand years ago?" Atem retorted, tightening his grip on his smaller counterpart.  
"That's....touché," Yugi answered, frowning off into the distance again.  
The sudden shaking of the room made Yugi jump a little, luckily Atems arms were still securely around his waist, making sure he wouldn't topple over.  
"I guess it's time to get going....." Yugi said slowly as his body tensed up at the anticipation of leaving Atems soul room.  
"They can wait a little longer, come on," Atem said, slowly standing up as to not push Yugi off him.  
"What you have in mind?" Yugi asked, almost beaming at the delay of the inevitable.  
Atem smiled at him, his gaze softening at his partner's enthusiasm, while his heart silently broke for what was to come so very soon.  
He wished they could prevent it, neither wanted to let go of the other, but Yugi insisted that he didn't want Atem to stay. He didn't want to drag Atem down with him. He argued, pleaded, they fought and than Atem had given up on convincing his partner. He saw the heated discussions taking a toll on him and decided that whatever time they had left, he should make the most out of it.  
Atem offered his hand to the just slightly smaller boy and smiled, "Dance with me," Atem stated, not even asking.  
Yugi blinked, "What?" he asked baffled.  
The room around them slowly changed from the Pharao's bedroom into an Egyptian Royal room where parties would be held. "Dance with me," he repeated, a little more pleading this time.  
Yugi sucked in a breath as he stared into those beautiful crimson eyes, anything bleached in the presence of Atem, especially when he was wearing Egyptian clothing as he was right now.  
It was almost as if he knew what kind of effect it had on Yugi, even though he tried his darnedest to not let it shimmer through, to make sure Atem would go to the afterlife when the time was there. He couldn't let them both suffer the same faith. If Atem wouldn't get there in time, his soul would be forever trapped in the void between worlds.  
"Of course," Yugi said almost breathless as he took Atems hand and allowed the Pharaoh to lead him into a traditional Egyptian dance Yugi could only hope to grasp at.  
A few toes got stepped -primarily Atems- and they bumped into each other a few times -because Yugi would stumble over Atems toes- but the Egyptian didn't seem bothered at all. Ever so patient, ever so loving and caring.  
"You're a natural," Atem teased as he made Yugi do a spin and caught him just in time to prevent him from stumbling over his own feet.  
"Oh shut up," Yugi giggled, "Not all of us enjoyed a royal education you're highness," Yugi teased back.  
Atem hummed in confirmation, making Yugi look up at what silenced him, once they started sassing each other it usually took a while for them to calm down.  
Atem was starring at him, "I didn't mean to actually shut you up," Yugi said, confused at as why there was no response.  
"Oh I only wish you would," Atem mumbled, a sly smile on his face.  
"Wish I would what?" The fair-skinned boy asked.  
"Shut me up, of course," Atem laughed as their feet finally seemed to fall into an automatic routine of steps and Yugi didn't actually step on his toes so often.  
Yugi frowned, a small blush spreading on his face. Feeling the heat on his cheeks, he was quick to do a spin on his own, holding on to Atems hand like a lifeline while he did so.  
He came out of his spin and all of a sudden Atems hand landed on his lower back, drawing in Yugi closer as their noses almost touched.

Yugi gasped for air as his soul got smashed back into his body all of a sudden, his eyes flew open and he clawed at his chest in a rush of panic. Panic washed of him as he searched for something familiar, then his eyes landed on Tea. " Yugi! Thank god, we've been trying to wake you up for the past five minutes!" the brunette cried out, tears prickling in her eyes.  
Yugi coughed a few times, feeling quite dizzy. He wasn't sure if it was because of their adventure in their soul room or that it was just his body's way of telling him that there was no escape.  
'I'm sorry' Atems voice rang through his mind, his spirit appearing beside him.  
"It's alright, it's not your fault," Yugi chose to speak out loud at his partner.  
Atem watched him, his eyes saying that he didn't quite agree with Yugi, but that he wasn't going to argue on the topic, for Yugi's sake.  
Yugi turned his eyes to Tea, who was looking at him worriedly. "I'm sorry for worrying you, we were...." Yugi frowned, not sure what to say.  
Tea's eyes softened, "It's alright, you don't need to explain why you prefer to be in there," Tea smiled sadly while softly tapping her finger on her own forehead.  
"I just wish we got to spend a little more time with you, both of you, but I guess that's just selfish of me," she sighed.  
Yugi reached out for her hand and softly squeezed it, "Not at all, believe me...I understand," Yugi said, glancing towards Atem from the corner of his eye.  
Tea nodded and squeezed back, seemingly as softly as she could as if she tried not to break Yugi. After a few seconds, Tea let go again, "I came to tell you, we have to leave soon, you gotta get ready....need any help?" she offered.  
"I should be fine, thanks Tea," Yugi dismissed her offer, smiling at her gratefully.  
Tea gave him a doubtful look but nodded and made her way out of the room without much resistance, they had all very quickly learned to respect Yugi's wishes, even if they didn't always agree with them. Yugi's will was strong and he would do as he saw fit, arguments would only exhaust him even more and he needed the energy for other things. Like the duel that was coming, soon, too soon.  
Yugi felt his stomach twitch and turn, it was probably a good thing his appetite hadn't been tremendous today.  
"Let me," Atem pleaded, softly touching his shoulder.  
Yugi took a breath, looked up at him and nodded, releasing his mental grip onto his body and willingly letting Atem take over. It was like Atems spiritual energy nourished Yugi's body, kept it going and slowed down the process that had been happening right underneath their noses until they noticed. It had been too late. Atem often blamed himself for this, but with everything that had happened, all the attacks on their life. They had never realized that his muscles denying service every now and then could possibly mean anything else than Yugi just being pushed to his limits by Pegasus and all the other threats they had faced since then. If only they had noticed maybe there would've been some way to cure him, to call upon the gods. But once they found out about Yugi's diagnosis it was far too late and they had far too little time left. Yugi was determined to place Atem above himself, the endless arguments had often led to great deterioration. Yugi's mind was made up, he would make sure Atems spirit was set free and if that meant that possibly giving up his own life for that, he would have to live with that decision. His spirit would be set free after his body died, but Atems never would. It was an easy decision to Yugi, but not to everyone around him. However, Yugi had vowed to do this, with or without their help and of course, no one would even dream of letting Yugi carry this burden on his own.  
"Partner?" Atems voice resounded through the air as he slowly dressed Yugi's body, their body, the slight changes in his face more visible nowadays.  
Yugi appeared next to him in spirit, looking his fragile body up and down, it was a miracle Atem managed to stand up with it. Most of the times Yugi couldn't muster it anymore, hence why they had provided him with a wheelchair. He hated it.  
"What are you thinking about?" The tanned young man asked him.  
Yugi hummed, "Everything," he shrugged, making his bangs move in front of his eyes with the movement.  
He huffed and pushed the stubborn hair out of his eyes again and looked up at Atem who was staring at him.  
"You ready?" Atem asked hesitantly, knowing better than to argue that they could put this off any longer.  
Yugi's features went from distracted to focused within a split second, straightening up as if preparing for war, and he was. A war with his own body to be exact.  
"Ready," he confirmed, stepping out of their bedroom with determination burning in his eyes.

They were all waiting for them, grandpa, Tea, Joey, Tristan, Bakura, Duke, Marik, Isis, Odion, even Seto and Mokuba were there. As soon as Atem entered the room went silent and heads turned around to ensure that Yugi, or rather Atem in Yugi's body, wouldn't topple over. "I'm fine," Atem brushed off the worried looks.  
His step was slow but firm, if they didn't know any better they might have all assumed that Atem just gracefully walked across the room, like a pharaoh instead of doing his utter best to walk without tripping or swaying.  
He came to a halt and rested against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms in front of him as he took a deep breath in order to control his breathing. "We are ready to go?" Atem asked, the words bitter on his tongue,  
"Ready when you are buddy," Joey answered, trying to be as cheerful as he could muster up.  
"Then I propose we get moving," he stated with a grimace.  
"You haven't had dinner yet," Tea protested, a plate with lasagna in her hands.  
Atem clenched his jaw when the smell of the food suddenly hit him in the face, making his stomach churn in protest.  
"Maybe later," grandpa proposed with a look of worry in Atems general direction, "But- oh...right," Tea hurriedly got the food away from Atem, making sure to get rid of it.  
Atem took a few breaths before he managed to pull himself together again, "Alright let's do this," he pushed himself off against the countertops and reached to take his bag, as someone swatted away his hand.  
"I got it," Duke told him, glaring at Atem when he tried to reach for the bag once more.  
"Fine fine," Atem mumbled, dropping his hands in surrender, that was one thing he and Yugi agreed on; feeling helpless was quite possibly the worst feeling.  
Atem watched as they all quickly gathered the supplies they needed for their trip, before long they were sitting in a jeep, enjoying the warmth of the Egyptian sun. Or at least, some of them were.  
'You sure you don't want to come out and enjoy the weather Aibou?' Atem mumbled lazily inside their minds.  
'I'm good, enjoy some sunlight, just let me take over once we reach some shade,' Yugi replied.  
Yugi didn't care much for the burning Egyptian weather, but he knew Atem enjoyed it immensely and this might just be his last chance....their last chance.  
'You sure? There are a lot of stairs once we reach, I could just walk them down for you,' Atem offered.  
'Yes I'm sure, I need to spend some time with my friends and grandpa....' Yugi answered hesitantly, not wanting to actually say out loud what he meant, but there was no need to clarify, they both knew exactly what he meant.  
Atem staid quite for a bit before he replied, 'If you made up your mind, I won't be the one to challenge that,'.  
Yugi mumbled a quick thanks before he dozed off into Atems soul room again, preferring Atems much brighter soul room over his own soul room which had gotten increasingly darker and depressing over the last year or so.  
Atem blinked his eyes and resumed conversation with Tea, Joey and Tristan as if nothing had happened. Grandpa looked at him through the rearview mirror, meeting Atems darkened gaze with a knowing look. Making Atem turn his head away, a bitter taste spreading in his mouth.

Before long they arrived at their destination, making Atem relentlessly offer up control to the body back to Yugi. Atem could feel the hesitation but refrained from mentioning it, there was no use making the struggle even bigger. As soon as Yugi took over the body he could feel himself slump from his previous more upright position. He clenched his jaws and strained himself in order to keep it together as he stepped out of the car. He hated feeling weak, needing help, worrying his friends. Yugi huffed as he swayed slightly, holding on to the car door to stay upright.  
Atem was right next to him, reaching out as if to grab him, but they both knew he couldn't. Yugi silently looked at his other half, grateful above all to have him at his side. For however much longer it would last. Atem seemed to radiate the exact same energy, they didn't have to exchange words at that moment, not even silently.  
"You alright bud?" Joey came around the car, looking at him curiously.  
"Yugi is that you?" he exclaimed surprise visible on his face.  
"This is still my body you know," Yugi chuckled dryly, in hopes of lightening the mood.  
Joey Instantly rushed to his side, "You should've given us a heads up," he scolded his smaller friend.   
Yugi huffed, "I appreciate the concern," he said, biting his tongue.  
This was no time to argue with his friends, that would come....later, perhaps. Joey moved to his free side to support part of Yugi's body weight so that he was safely able to let go of the car and not have his knees give in.  
He mumbled a quick thanks to his friend, who quite literally shrugged it off as they moved around the car to join the rest.  
Yugi's attention got split between trying to keep his knees from giving in and not tripping over his own feet, making it hard to conversate with his friends as they slowly made their way down the seemingly endless amount of stairs. They had to take short breaks in between to ensure Yugi could catch his breath, every now and then.  
With both Atem offering up a switch and Joey and Tristan insisting to carry him down the stairs, Yugi was ready to snap at them as they finally came to the end of the stairs. An impressive Egyptian room showed up in front of them, the Millenium tablet was positioned near the end of the room, with the eye of Ujat staring them down at the wall above it.  
Yugi could almost feel the energy in the air, it was as if it was tangible. He looked at Atem next to him, almost looking as nervous as Yugi felt, so Yugi gave him a reassuring nod. This had to be done.  
They had gone over this many times, he knew what to do. "Isis," he insisted, holding out his hands for the bag of millennium items.  
"I can put them in there for you, there's no need to-"  
"No, I will do this myself," Yugi cut her off, not taking his eyes of the tablet.  
Isis went quite and handed him the bag, it was heavy and nearly made him grunt as it pulled on his arm. He took a few steps before he shook of Joey's support as well, slowly walking up to his goal, their goal.  
He sat down on his knees next to the tablet, breathing heavily as he put down the bag, drops of sweat running over his face. He put in all the pieces in there one by one, before standing back up tall, straightening his back as he stared down at the tablet. The only thing that was still missing was the puzzle currently hanging around his neck. He touched the cold gold and stroked it, not wanting to let go. 'You don't have to do this,' Atem spoke up, as he put his hands over Yugi's.  
Yugi looked up, 'we both know that's not true, I, we, can't be selfish. This is about more than you finding peace or my survival, it's about doing what's best for the world as well. Locking this away, freeing your soul, it will guarantee peace,' Yugi argued.  
'It will,' Atem confirmed, not arguing the point Yugi had made so many times.  
"Alright then," Yugi took a deep breath as he slowly raised the chain over his head and removed it from the puzzle.  
He didn't quite know what he had expected, but it felt worse. His vision went blurry, a steel taste entered his mouth and his knees gave in. He crashed on both of them, gripping the puzzle in both hands at his friends let out yelps of dispair. "I'm alright, I'm alright," Yugi shouted as loud as he could in between his panting.  
He slowly put the puzzle in place as he looked at Atems pained features. They had both known it but never dared to mention it to each other. The puzzle and Atems energy were what kept him alive all this time, stopping his muscles from giving in, from his lungs to stop breathing the air he needed to survive.  
It felt as if his life force was ripped away the moment he put the puzzle in, he tried to scream out internally, wanting to hold on to Atems presence. But he couldn't and he wasn't meant to either way.  
Atems soul was ripped out of him, the safe space inside of him disappearing along with him. If he hadn't already been on the ground he would've quite possibly fainted on the spot.  
"Yugi?" someone kneeled next to him, touching his shoulder and giving it a small squeeze.  
With vision blurry and partially blacking out, Yugi looked up, right into the face of Atem, the worry in his friends face obvious.  
Yugi tried to get up, but his world spun. He panted, more sweat appearing on his face as he tried to force himself through. He had to get through, there was no other option. He had to do this, he couldn't let Atem down. The world could suck it, but Atem, he deserved to be set free. Before it was too late.  
Atems fingers seemed to dig into his shoulder by now, "Let Kaiba duel me, please Yugi, you're not fit for battle," the former pharaoh pleaded.  
"Like hell, I will," Yugi bit back, slowly focussing his vision on Atems face, staring him down.  
"This is our battle, and no one else's, besides who better to kick your ass than me," Yugi answered cheekily, a strained smile crossing his features.  
Atem huffed in surprise as if he couldn't quite comprehend the uncharacteristic language Yugi just used. Yugi grunted as he worked his way to his feet, feeling every inch of his body shake as he made his body function on pure willpower. He would see this through, everything after that.....he would think about it when the time arrived.  
It was as if the tablet and Atems physical presence right next to him helped him pull through as if the energy in the room knew he was destined to finish this, he had to.  
Yugi turned around, slightly brushing his hand against Atems, making sure he was really there and not just in his mind any longer. Slowly, with a slight swaying step he made it across the platform and took his place to duel.  
Meanwhile, Atem had done the same, looking confident and proud as he gazed across the room at Yugi. "I am so proud of how far we've come Aibou, I promised you to give it my all in this duel and I will, in respect of your wish," Atem spoke up.  
"I ensure you, you won't just have to give it your all because of your promise, partner," Yugi answered while sliding in his deck into the duel disk.  
Yugi looked up to meet Atems gaze, "I will set you free today," he said, his look softening only slightly.  
"There is no shame in walking away at any given point, I won't blame you," Atem reminded him.  
"No," Yugi simply replied.  
The two stared at each other across the room, unable to hear each other's thoughts any longer.  
"Than I propose we shall get started," Atem answered.  
Yugi nodded and took a deep breath to steady himself, they looked each other in the eye.  
"DUEL!" their voice resounded against the walls as they both drew their cards.

They duelled fiercely, summoning monsters, using traps and casting magic spells, neither held back anything. The rush and adrenaline made Yugi forget, for just a little bit, made him live in the moment. He was fighting for Atem and that was all that mattered at this moment.  
He barely noticed the sweat dripping off him, the shaking of his body as Atem landed another direct hit on his life points. He had to keep it together, just as Atem did, not even flinching an eyelid. He took a deep breath and drew another card, he had destroyed Atems god cards, but he knew it was coming back. He had anticipated on it long before. Atem had every intention of winning this duel, it was neither in Atems nor Yugi's nature to lose a duel, no matter the consequence.  
All that was left to do now was gear up and prepare for anything he might have overlooked, something that slipped his mind. He had to be ready for anything, even if he was convinced of the course this duel would take.  
Yugi drew, the card he needed for his plan to work right in his hand, feeling his heart jump inside his chest. He activated the card Gold Sarcophagus, to select a card from his Deck and remove it from play face-down. If Atem later decided to activate the same card, he could negate the effect of Atem's card by revealing the card that he removed via Gold Sarcophagus. Atem watched his moves carefully.  
Yugi proceeded to summon two Block Tokens from his Blockman's special ability, both providing him with 1500 points in defence. "I will tribute both Block Tokens in order to tribute summon Gandora the dragon of destruction!" Yugi called out as he made his moves one by one.  
"Now I will pay half my life point to active Gandora's special ability and remove all monster from the field!" His life points went down to 200, making Yugi's head spin faster, he barely took notice.  
However Atem was smart, "I don't think so partner!" Atem revealed his face down card, Black Illusion, which prevented the dark magician from being harmed by Gandora's special ability.  
Yugi huffed as Gandora disappeared off the field as an aftereffect of using its special ability, however, it was still his turn. He drew a card and set two additional cards on the field, face down.  
"Your move," Yugi called for his partner, Atem nodded, looking at the field as if he saw right through the cards as Pegasus once did.  
Yugi felt chills go down his spine, Atem didn't have the ability and even if he did, he knew his partner would never use such foul play. "You left yourself awfully open for attacks Aibou," Atem said.  
"No matter, you fought bravely.....Dark Magician, Dark magic attack!" Atem viciously ordered the Dark Magician to attack.  
"Not so quick!" Yugi shouted revealing one of his face-down cards, "I active Magicians circle! This allows both of us to draw a magician from our deck!".  
Both Atem and Yugi brought forth a spellcaster, Silent Magician joined Yugi's side of the field while Atem brought forth Dark Magician Girl.  
Yugi ended up surviving both attacks by raising his Silent Magicians life point to the point where he could have finished up Atems life points. Could have, but of course, Atem wasn't done just yet. His other self ended up fussing both of them in order to protect his life point. Atem lost 500 life points, dropping to an equal amount of 200. "Well played Aibou," Atem panted slightly, smiling proudly.  
Yugi was about to reply when Atem went on to draw as the start of his turn, "but not well enough!" Atem grinned, looking both ready to take the win and slightly upset.  
"Yugi, you have fought bravely, for both of us....but I'm afraid it ends here. Do not blame yourself, I know you tried your very hardest," Atem said, a sad smile gracing his features.  
Yugi braced himself for what was to come, an anticipating linger in his stomach, his friends gasping in the background. "I activate Monster Reborn in order to special summon Slifer the Sky Dragon back from the graveyard!" he revealed his hand, his last and final play.  
The card which would destroy Yugi.  
Or would it? Yugi grinned. "I don't think so," he stated flatly, making Atem take a step back in shock.  
"I activate Gold Sarcophagus!"  
"Did you really....?" Atem gasped.  
"Yes I did! Because if I had a god card, I would bring it back too!" Yugi answered, determination now burning in his eyes.  
The Gold Sarcophagus opened up, revealing his own Monster Reborn card, a flash of gold destroyed the god card once and for all.  
They both starred as the monster disappeared, both feeling a mix between pride for Yugi and bafflement. This was it. Atems turn was done and he was completely defenceless with no face-down cards, nor monsters on the field to protect himself from Yugi's Silent Magician that still remained on the field.  
Yugi stood there, hesitant for a moment before he managed to get himself together.  
"S-silent magician, attack his life points directly!" Yugi's voice quivered at the demand, he watched the magician attack his friend, his other self, his partner, his....part of his soul. Soulmate? His breath shook as Atems life points dwindled down to zero.  
Yugi's knees gave in on himself as reality hit him in the face hard. Salty tears mixing in with the sweat on his face as the grief hit him to the full extent. A few seconds passed before Atem kneeled down by him, "Congratulations.....Yugi a champion does not belong on his knees,".  
Yugi looked up at him, "I was focusing so hard on playing the game that I forgot what winning this Duel would actually mean. By defeating you I've sent you away...for good." Yugi cried, black spots occurring in his field of sight.  
Atem grabbed Yugi's upper arm to steady him as he helped him to his feet, "You've done me and the world a great service Yugi, don't feel guilty about opening the door to my destiny for me. I will be forever grateful that you gave me the opportunity to return to where I belong," Atem promised him, pride shimmering in every word he said.  
"You are so strong Yugi, so kind," Atem pressed.  
"I'm no-," Yugi got interrupted by a bright light erupting from the eye of Ujat. 

All heads turned to see what was happening.  
"Hey, look!" Tristan shouted.  
"What's up with the Eye?" Joey asked while shielding his eyes with his hand.  
"Now that the battle ritual is complete, the Eye of Wdjat that guards the door to the Spirit World has awakened, and the Spirit of the Great Pharaoh which was trapped within the Millennium Puzzle for 5,000 years is now free...." Isis explained, a stern look in her face.  
"So this is it?" Tea asked, already tearing up.  
"The time has arrived: tell the Eye of Wdjat your name," Isis stated.  
Atem looked over at Yugi, who nodded at him encouraging, a small tired smile on his face.  
The former pharaoh walked up to the eye together with Yugi, who trailed of to the nearest pillar for support, leaning on it heavily.  
"I am the son of King Aknamkanon, my name is ATEM!" his voice resounded against the wall, powerful, confident, every bit of his soul enlaced with the Shadow Magic's power.  
The Eye of Ujat opened up and started to reveal a door. Atem didn't look back as he started to walk towards it, Yugi watched him go, letting go the breath he was holding. Closing his own eyes as he was ready to let go as well, this was it.  
"Pharaoh!" shouts resounded through the room, making Atem stop in his tracks.  
"Don't go!" Tea pleaded.  
"So that's how it ends huh? Nice! You think you can just go up and change everybody's life and then just leave?" Tristan cried out, wiping away his tears with his fisted hand.  
Yugi slowly opened his eyes and Atems crimson gaze met him, a look of shock passing over his features as he sprinted the few steps towards Yugi.  
"There is no need for him to stay any longer," Yugi whispered, his hoarse, merely that of a ghost as Atem reached him.  
"How could I abandon you Aibou? You...you," Atem pressed his lips together as he took Yugi's face between his hands.  
He didn't want to say it, but it was true. Yugi was dying in this very moment, as he saw Atem walk away, he was ready to let go.  
"I don't have another fight in me partner.....it's alright," Yugi whispered, a tear leaking down his cheek.  
"I can't just let you die!" Atem nearly shouted, his hands shaking.  
"Than don't," Yugi smiled sadly.  
"Aibou....?" Atem asked confused.  
"Set us both free, take me with you," Yugi pleaded.  
"I......," Atem nearly choked on his own tongue.  
"But your friends, your family," Atem stuttered, gazing over Yugi's head at the crowd watching them.  
"You'd be saying goodbye, forever," Atem said in a low voice as to not alarm everyone.  
"I said my goodbye's a long time ago Atem," Yugi whispered, folding his hands over Atems that were still holding up his face.  
"You are part of my soul, you are who I belong with....." Yugi's words where merely anything but a breath at this point.  
Atems eyes showed all of it, the doubt, the pain, the grief, the love, the adoration, the determination to do anything to save his Aibou.  
"My soulmate," Yugi sighed, a slight blush indicating that he was still alive underneath that ghostly white skin.  
Atems warm stuttering breath hit him in the face, "I would do anything for you taw'um alruwh," Atem promised him, determination now shimmering in his eyes along with the tears that had appeared during Yugi's pleas.  
He carefully lifted Yugi up in his arms, it almost appeared that Atem was the one with a body now, while Yugi appeared to be all but a ghost at this point. Atem turned to their friends, "Yugi has pleaded his wish to join me in the afterlife, as the Nameless Pharaoh, it is within my reach to fulfil his wish," Atem announced, his voiced laced with authority.  
Atem looked behind him at the door brightly shinning at them before meeting his friends gaze, their faces shocked.  
"I.....but, Yugi!" Tea cried.  
"You can't just take him away from us!" Tristan cried.  
"You leaving is already bad enough!" Joey added on.  
"Why can't you-"  
"Shut up," Kaiba intervened the chaos that had erupted.  
Atems surprised gaze met Kaiba's calm one. "Don't you see? He's saving Yugi," Kaiba whispered, his arms crossed in front of him sternly.  
"None of my inventions or technology has been able to stop the deterioration of Yugi's body, the cryo freezing capsule hasn't had one successful test yet and let's face it. Without Atem, Yugi's life expansion is mere days max, hours or minutes more likely. In the afterlife, Yugi's body will get repaired and he will be able to live once again," Kaiba stated, his eyes dropping to the fragile body in Atems arms that was barely moving as was, if it hadn't been for his chest slowly rising and falling, he would've thought Yugi was dead already.  
The group fell silent, tears streaming freely as everyone realized the truth of the situation, the truth that they all had been trying to deny for so long.  
After a few seconds, grandpa stepped forward and walked up to Atem. His old shaking hand reached out for Yugi's face, carefully removing the bangs from his grandson's sweaty forehead. He smiled weakly and looked up at Atem, "Promise me you'll take care of my boy, son," Grandpa asked.  
Atem stared at him, "I promise, grandpa," he answered, bowing his head.  
"Thank you," Atem whispered.  
"No, thank you," Grandpa smiled sadly, taking a step back to let go of both his boys.  
Atem nodded at everyone, "I- we are forever grateful, we will never forget you- any of you. You've all enabled me and Yugi to go on this path and complete the journey we all started together. Remember that each and every one of you has touched and changed us. We will remain with you in spirit, in heart and in the way you approach the rest of your life. Until we meet again....friends," he spoke.  
He turned around, tears prickling in his eyes, he looked down at his Aibou, who remained awfully quiet in his arms. His weight seemingly decreasing every second, as if he was literally going up in thin air.  
"Yugi-" Atem whispered, relief hitting him as his Aibou's eyes opened up half way, looking at him tiredly.  
"Take me beyond, I'm ready," Yugi whispered a small smile appearing on his face, staring into the crimson eyes of his soulmate as they stepped through the veil.


End file.
